Battle of Love
by purpledancingmonkey
Summary: Both Harry and Draco fancy Cho...and Cho doesn't seem to take to any of them. Cho is soon torn between two decisions; which path will she take?


Battle of Love

Ch. 1

Cho sat in an empty classroom, her head in her arms. Her long black hair was spread out on her back. She just couldn't figure it out. Did she like Harry or not? It seemed as if he liked her, but Cho was growing away from him...slowly...

"Cho?" said a soft voice from the doorway. Cho neither answered, nor looked up. She twitched slightly as she felt a gentle hand on her back, and relaxed.

"Cho," said the voice again, sweet and soft as ever. She lifted her head, and unsurprisingly, she saw Harry.

"Harry," she said to him, putting her head back in her hands. Harry didn't give up. He pulled her to standing, out of the seat.

"Cho, please," he said to her, almost urgently. "I really do love you, I'm sorry about..." his voice trailed into nothingness as he put his arms protectively around her, kissing the top of her head softly. Cho did nothing. After about a minute of this, Cho broke free.

"Leave me alone, Harry," she said flatly, sitting back down. Harry said nothing, but looked hurt. "I need to be alone. Please go," Cho said. "Please!" Harry didn't move.

"I don't want to leave you," he said quietly. Pulling a chair over to her, he sat down. "Because I love you." He had said that so many times already it irritated Cho.

"I love you too, but will you please leave me!" she said to him. She was tired of him, for an unknown reason. She had always loved him so much, why did that love go away? It confused Cho and at times saddened her, but that was just the way it was.

Reluctantly, Harry stood up. "I'll be back later," he said finally after standing by the door for about five minutes.

Cho breathed a few deep breaths, feeling horrible, the way she had treated Harry. He certainly was very sweet...but she knew deep down she no longer loved him. It made her sad, as if a part of her was gone forever, but she couldn't bring herself to love him. Who she loved, she didn't know, but it wasn't Harry.

Ch. 2

The next morning, Cho got up early and went down to breakfast. It turns out Harry had been waiting by the door of the Great Hall ever since and hour ago. He looked entirely exhausted.

"There you are!" he said, striding over to her and embracing her. Cho struggled out of his grasp, and making it obvious she no longer cared for him, began to walk away. She thought she had gotten away, when Harry caught up with her again, hurt in his eyes. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.

"Please tell me, Cho...what's wrong?" Harry said, pretending not to have gotten her message; the message that clearly said, 'I don't want you anymore.'

Sighing, Cho looked into his eyes, full of pity and hurt. Those eyes made her want to fall into his arms and apologize, but she stayed firm, ignoring his look. "I'm fine, Harry." She said in a monotone voice. Her eyes glazed away from him, and she noticed Draco Malfoy a little ways away, glaring at her and Harry. She returned the glare, and Draco turned away.

Harry held onto Cho's hands. "Remember I love you," he said sadly, and left for the Gryffindor table, not looking back. Cho stared after him, and a single tear rolled down her face. She hated herself for treating him like this....

Cho caught Draco looking at her again, but this time without malignance. Whatever that look was she didn't know, but it annoyed her. She gave him a petrifying stare, and strode out of the Great Hall and out to the Courtyard, where she sat silently, letting the wind blow at her hair, mussing it up.

She had been sitting in the wind for quite some time when someone came from behind and smoothed her hair down. Sighing exasperatedly, she said firmly, "Harry, leave me alone!" But it wasn't Harry. She turned slowly and found herself face to face with Draco Malfoy. "What are you doing here?" she snarled at him. Draco looked at her one more time and then turned, walking away from her calmly.

"Get back here!" Cho shouted angrily at his retreating back. "Draco!" He continued walking away, ignoring her shouts of rage. Cho let out a furious cry and shook her hair out of her eyes. Life was so complicated, she needed to be able to go somewhere, to rest, relax...but where? Then it hit her: The Room of Requirement.

Ch. 3

Cho hoisted her book bag onto her right shoulder and headed back towards the school, which she had just exited only minutes before. Screwing her eyes closed, she tried to remember where it was...the route she had taken back when the DA was taking place... There it was, the suit of armor she passed every time she went to the meetings, how well she remembered it.

"I'm sure this is where it was," she said confidently to herself, staring up at the blank wall. "Come on, show yourself, I know you exist. I need a quiet room to get my thoughts together, to mull things over..." she muttered at the wall, feeling quite stupid. A minute later, a shiny red door appeared. Cho's lips cracked into a small smile, the first real smile she had smiled in days, and pulled the door open without any difficulty, and went inside. It wasn't anything like what it looked like at DA meetings. Now the room had a comfortable armchair with a coffee table in front of it, holding a large box of tissues, a steaming cup of tea, and a rather large platter of chocolate. A fire burned and crackled peacefully in the fireplace. Cho tiptoed quietly over to the armchair, and letting her book bag fall off her shoulder, she collapsed into the armchair and burst into tears; even she herself couldn't explain this behavior. Grabbing a few tissues, Cho tried to dry her eyes and blew her nose, but she didn't stop sobbing. Eventually she quieted down a bit, sniffling every now and then.

Cho knew she was missing Herbology, and that she would get detention from doing so, but really, for once, she did not care. She sat and stared at the wall for a long time, until the bell marking the end of class rang loudly throughout the school. Eyes puffy and still sniffling, Cho stood up; and gave a start. There was Draco, standing at the door; she hadn't closed it. _How thick can you get, Cho? Forgetting to close the door?_ She scolded herself.

Staring Draco in the eye, she said haughtily, "What do you think you're doing?" She stood as still as a brick wall, glaring angrily at him. A thought crossed her mind. How long had he been there, anyways?

Draco's pale face broke out in a smile. It wasn't an evil smile. It didn't even suggest malice, as his smiles to anyone outside of Slytherin always did. It was the first pleasant smile Cho has seen on this boys face. "Chang," he said in a tone of slight amusement. Cho didn't find the matter amusing at all.

"If you're not going to tell me what you're doing here, I'm leaving," she said to him. Still watching him, mistrust etched into every bit of her face, she took a step forward, and then another step. Draco continued to smile at her, watching her movements. At last, he spoke.

"I merely came here to see you, there's nothing wrong with that, is there?" he asked her in a calm voice. His serenity disturbed Cho very much, especially since she was so angry. She shook her head in fury and the looked at him again. Draco laughed.

"Well, why are you coming to see me, precisely?" Cho asked in a dangerous voice. "I don't need you dirty Slytherins watching me, thanks," she said in a light tone. "I've got enough on my hands, without being trailed and spied on."

A flicker of a sneer passed through his face as Cho called him a 'dirty Slytherin.' But it went by so quickly it was unnoticed. "I'm watching you because seeing your pretty face calms me down, it makes me feel happy," he said, shrugging. "You could say because I fancy you," he grinned, without a trace of embarrassment. Cho looked at him, her mouth hanging open. Stepping towards her, Draco put his hand under her chin and closed her mouth for her. Cho blushed and backed away. Draco never stopped smiling. Angrily, Cho pushed past him.

"Get away from me, you -- you --," She couldn't find the words for an insult. Cho ran out into the hall, right into Harry. "You again!" she cried, backing away, this time into Draco.

"Potter," Draco said coldly, his icy grey eyes boring into Harry's bright green ones. Draco's arms were around Cho, and Harry watched her struggling, then giving up. Draco's grip was too tight.

"Malfoy," Harry nodded, his eyes flickering between Draco and Cho. His eyes flashed dangerously as he lunged at Draco, trying to tear Cho from his arms. "Don't worry, Cho, I'll help you from this git," he shouted, shoving Draco away, making him tumble back. Cho backed away, into the wall, watching, apparently stunned.

"Don't hurt him, Harry!" she cried anxiously as Harry drew his wand out. He turned to face Cho, who backed farther into the wall, feeling both angry and guilty. "I'm sorry," she whispered as Harry drew closer to her. His nose was almost touching hers, and Cho looked fearfully into his brilliant green eyes. "Please, Harry...don't hurt him. I'm sorry for all I've done to you, and if you want to take out any of your on someone, that someone...that someone...should be me," she said somewhat meekly. Harry backed away, face full of hurt. Throwing a last hateful glance at Draco, he walked away without another word. When he was all the way down at the end of the corridor, he said something that neither Cho nor Draco could hear; but Cho recognized the way his mouth moved, and remembered his words; 'Remember I love you, Cho.'


End file.
